Homemade DIY Cleaner for Stubborn Carpet Stains

If you have stubborn carpet stains that just won’t come out no matter what you try, this simple DIY trick may be just the thing thing you need! Make sure you try this first before you call in the professionals or spend money on one of those carpet cleaning gizmos!

OK, this one here needs to be filed in your brain (or on your Pinterest boards) under “coolest thing ever”. If you have stubborn carpet stains, you definitely need to try this trick!

If you have carpet somewhere in your house, then you definitely have experienced one or two mystery carpet stains. Sometimes they can just be dabbed with a damp cloth and they come right out. Other times, not so much.

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We don’t have much carpet in our house, and we haven’t been worrying about what we do have very much, just because we do intend to have it all removed eventually. Truthfully though, the grossness on our light-colored stairs was really starting to bug me, so it was time to do something about it until the time comes to rip it out.

How to Get Rid of Stubborn Carpet Stains

This little cleaning trick is so clever. By using an iron, you can steam-blast those stains right out! In fact, using an iron is even better than most of those little at home steam cleaners because it allows you to create an even more concentrated environment of steamy-ness right in the spot you need it.

It’s so simple!

Here’s what you do:

Gather your supplies: A clean light-colored cloth, an iron (I have one that I use for just crafts and around-the-house stuff, and one that I save for clothing and linens), and a little container for your homemade carpet cleaning solution.

For most stains, you can mix up a simple solution of:

-1/4 cup of vinegar

-3/4 cup of water

-a few drops of dishwashing liquid

That’s the one I used.

If your mystery stain is something a little more…er…mysterious, you can also try a mixture of 1/2 ammonia and 1/2 water.

Next you’ll soak your cloth in your cleaning solution of choice, wring it out just a bit, and place it over the stain.

Iron over the stain for a few seconds, lift the cloth up and see what you’ve got! The stain will be transferred right onto the cloth! So neat! Just keep moving to a clean part of the cloth and re-ironing over the stains until they’re gone. I went over my mystery stains about three times.

Stubborn Carpet Stains, Gone!

As a bonus, this cleaning trick also turns out to be like a luxury day at the spa for your carpets as well! Just look at how gorgeous and fluffed up the carpet on my stairs looked afterwards!

Give it a try! Not only does this trick actually work, it’s pretty fun too!

Do you have stubborn carpet stains at home that you’re going to try this on?

I did have the steam turned on, but even if you don’t have it turned on, you’re going to get steam, just from the fact that you’re heating up a wet cloth. Extra steam can’t hurt though! I had my iron turned up to the highest setting, but you could start lower and see how it works on your particular brand of carpet first if you’d like. I was just feeling fearless at the time. 🙂 Good luck!

If it is a stain from urine and you don’t get it cleaned all the way, as we know many methods do, the pets are attracted to that particular area to re-visit again. The method here eliminates the trapped-in odors and the vinegar scent is a deterrent for most pets to want to potty around that area again! Double win!

I have tried this and it works very well but a faster solution is to spray windex on the stain rub with clean cloth and it is gone. Haven’t tried steaming with windex but next time I get a spot I will.

Windex does indeed work. But, over time you will notice a bluish stain that shows on your light-colored carpet (at least that’s what I got). And THAT will not come out – at least not yet. Bummer. Use something else with a little ammonia – or even good ol’ Spic ‘n Span.

I ‘ve met alot of people with alot of tips, but girl, you take the cake! I live down south where we have “red mud” and for some reason EVERY house/apt has cream color carpets, go figure. Anyway, I came across your tip and tried it right away and it worked wonderfully ! You have the best tips, thank you so much. I save money AND time thsnks to you. 🙂

Does it work on pet urine? When a friend of ours stayed at our house for 6 months, his dog kept peeing in 2 different places, and when it’s humid or raining the smell comes back. I’ve tried a ton of different sprays from the pet store and vet and no luck. It was new carpet and we can’t afford to replace it right now. Help please 🙂

I haven’t tried any dry versions, so I’ll definitely try it this weekend! Then if that doesn’t work, I’ll try this mix. I’ll let you know my findings. Thank you for your help, Courtenay! I’m new to your blog and love it already!

Try a product called Wee Cleaner at weecleaner.com. It really works. We had a sick cat ho started peeing around the house. Sadly she couldn’t be helped & we had to put her to sleep. The Wee Cleaner really worked & we didn’t have to replace the carpet. We tried everything & Wee was the only thing that worked. Good luck!!

Thanks for the recommendation! I’ll try it soon. One of the things helped on the last accident, but our dog was recently put on steroids and had an accident, that was like a mini pond. 😞 We’ve tried the above and Febreeze urine eliminator. Neither has worked this time. I’ll go buy wee-cleaner now.

Thanks for the info and again sorry about your cat. They’re like family and I know that had to be hard.

I have a stain today that needs coming out. It is right in the middle of our lounge room, and being a small home, it is the main area of our home. As soon as you walk into the home, you could see it. Made from my poor 2 year old with a severe stomach bug (you can imagine). I’ve tried scrubbing it out with vinegar & baking soda, it half worked. But didn’t quite do the job. I’m doing this right now, I’ll let you know how I go 🙂

I have some very old stains I am going to try this one. I have used the baking soda and vinegar, but it didn’t remove all of it. We shall see. If this doesn’t work then it is definitely time to get new carpet!

I just read this. I got right up, followed the instructions and now I am back. Honestly. I just did that. IT WORKED! Oh glory be! I just had the carpets professionally cleaned. I thought they still looked pretty bad. Little spots here and there. Have iron will travel! I’m a woman with a carpet cleaning mission. Thanks so much. I just love you to pieces!

Unfortunately, this did not work for me. 🙁 I tried removing 2 stains: one left by a piece of hard candy stuck to the carpet, and the other a mysterious dark spot in our entryway. I tried the vinegar/dish soap recipe, but nothing….not even a speck transferred to my white cloth. Our carpet is less than a year old, so I was really hoping this would work. Glad to heard others had success, but for me, not so much.

Wow! That’s some serious hard candy! I would think that a sugary stain like that would be fairly easy to get out. Did you try the ammonia yet? You might try a bit of rubbing alcohol too. That’s great for getting out quite a few different inks, dyes, or grease-type stains. Since your carpet is so new, maybe you could reach out to the manufacturer of your carpet for advice on what to use on the particular fiber that your carpet is made from. Some carpets react well to different methods. Good luck, Alicia! Sounds like you’ve got quite a challenge on your hands!

Same here 🙁 I have tried lots of Pinterest methods like the shaving cream, white vinegar blotting, etc…. nothing. I have a hair dye stain, ink stains, a grease stain, and several random ‘dirt’ stains caused by the dog traipsing stuff in. I tried this trick on every stain but nothing 🙁 The cool tricks never seem to work for me. I’ll try the ammonia/rubbing alcohol mixes next.

What a brilliant idea! As a beauty enthusiast I’m always playing with different make but I’m also always dropping things, such as my bright red eyeshadow that has now left a pinkish stain in my carpet 🙁
Hopefully this trick will make thing easier

Hmmm, I’ve done this with ammonia and had great results. Now after reading your post I’m suddenly wondering if this might work on furniture?? I like your mix better- no noxious fumes, I’m going to have to give it a try!

Patience is key to removing carpet stains, especially the real tricky ones. Complete removal of the spill might mean you will need to repeat one of these steps several times. Don’t continue past this point until the stain is completely removed from your carpet.

Can’t wait to try this!! Late husband had 24/7 hick-ups as part of his cancer symptoms and kept tossing his food all over the carpet! Had the carpet “steam” cleaned twice now and for some reason the stains keep coming back. Hoping this will finally take care of the spots 🙂

Question… what can I use to remove blood (no I didn’t kill him for it, lol)? Roommate had a varicose vein in his ankle leak and with each heartbeat… 8-o

I’ve had good luck with a mixture of baking soda, hydrogen peroxide and dish soap. Create a paste and then spoon it on and cover it up with damp paper towel for a few hours. Good luck! So sorry to hear about your husband. Cancer can make people and their loved ones go through some pretty terrible things. I hope my tips can help you take care of your carpet stains at least!

Wow, sorry it’s been a year (to paraphrase my daughter’s favorite book; it’s been a “horrible, no good, very bad year!”)…

But I still wanted to thank you SO much for your blood stain removal advice!!!! After my roommate had tried cleaning his trail of blood himself (some the size of my fist!) and I’d tried various cleaners, and even had a carpet cleaning company come out; I didn’t hold out much hope and even joked to friends that I might as well put down a tape outline of a body in my hall, lol!

After your advice (baking soda and peroxide) however; my hall and roommate’s bedroom no longer look like a CSI crime scene… WHOO-WHOO!! I’ve since used it successfully on cat barf (why does ALL kibble have to barf up red?!)…. Thank you SO very much!!

Yay! I’m so glad to hear that it worked for you! Thanks so much for reporting back! This is one I’ve definitely had to use more often than I’d like to admit too. That’s the truth about life with pets though! 🙂

Kibble barfs up red because the meat products they get from slaughterhouses are marked as not fit for human consumption by dropping it in huge vats full of red dye. Trust me when I tell you do not want to know what the criteria is for making cuts of meat into pet food. ::shudder::

Don’t know if this will work for rust, but an old trick my mom used to clean her iron was to pour table salt on top of wax paper. She then ran her hot iron back and forth over the salt. The salt would clean burned nylon fabric, etc. off the bottom of her iron, while the wax paper made the bottom of the iron slick again. Good luck!

I have a 100% wool cream colored carpet in my daughter’s room. Her friend took her winter boots off and put them on the carpet leaving 3 orange stains. I am not sure what the stains are made of. Can I use this method on a 100% wool carpet? I have tried tonic water, salt and baking soda with no success. Any other suggestions would be helpful. Thank you.

Hi Kailie! A mixture of hydrogen peroxide, a little warm water, and baking soda is often helpful on things like this. It’s usually more for pet stains and things like that, but it’s kind of strange that the stain you have is orange, so something a little stronger seems to be in order. Good luck!

I have light sandy-color Berber carpet that was here when I bought my town home. I actually like it very much. But some mysterious black areas appeared after I was here awhile. I rented a carpet cleaner that did a good job BUT the stains have reappeared after a few weeks. I am anxious to try this remedy but am wondering if the detergent then becomes a dirt magnet? I will take before & after pictures & share them here. Then wait a few weeks to see if it is still clean! I hope so!!
Thx for your blog & helpful hints. I need all the help I can get! 😊

Oh wow, that sounds like a really frustrating situation! I have light beige carpet on my stairs as well (also 2 kids and three pets, so lots of dirt) and I haven’t found that there has been any dirt sticking to the areas that I’ve used this method on. It’s mostly the little drips of juice that do it. 🙂 If you’re worried , maybe try just water and vinegar to start and see what that does for you. That along with the steam and the white cloth to pull stains up should make a significant difference. Good luck!

Thanks for the tip, sadly it didn’t work on our carpet. My cat had a weird vomiting and poo incident on our brand new wool light carpet. Silly of us to expect pets and kids to respect new carpet big mistake anyhow. I tried on the day it happened it clean but it made the carpet fluffy and the stain remained. I tried bi carb and vinegar which has helped slightly but still stubborn stain. I was hoping it would work with your idea but sadly not. I am so angry watching this new carpet ruined, not sure what to do anymore 🙁

[…] Over time your brand new and recently cleaned carpet becomes less and less new and clean. It will be covered with some unknown stains…You can use your iron to get rid of those as detailed here… […]

[…] Mix up 1/4 cup of vinegar, 3/4 cup of water and a few drops of dishwashing liquid for this simple carpet cleaning solution. Other supplies are a clean light-colored cloth and an iron. See details from creek line house. […]

[…] Mix up 1/4 cup of vinegar, 3/4 cup of water and a few drops of dishwashing liquid for this simple carpet cleaning solution. Other supplies are a clean light-colored cloth and an iron. See details from creek line house. […]

[…] you prefer using steam to clean and have a couple of stubborn stains, then check this out for the best DIY cleaner for stubborn carpet stains. It can help give you a more concentrated steam clean, which might be necessary every couple of […]